Tanzania itinerary 2014 - late August/early September
 

Arusha - 1 night
Tarangire - 2 nights
Ngorongoro - 2 nights
fly to Northern Serengeti
Northern Serengeti - 4 nights a t Sayari camp near Mara
fly back to Arusha

Does this itinerary give best safari experience in terms viewing wild life (big 5) and migration? Do I need to add Central Serengeti? I hear it is very crowded during that time and can be skipped without missing anything that you would see elsewhere?

Thank you.

To fly from Ngorongoro to the northern Serengeti, I think you'll have to backtrack to the airstrip above Lake Manyara. The central Serengeti (Seronera) is actually good at any time of the year and it's not all that crowded. If you have time, you might consider a road transfer from Ngorongoro to Seronera, rather than flying, and spend a couple of days there. On your way to Seronera, you could also stop by Olduvai Gorge and see their museum. Then, do another road transfer to the northern Serengeti. All of these transfers are actually game drives.

I agree with ShayTay. If you have the time (and your back can handle it), drive. I enjoyed the time because we saw lots of game and some of the vistas were stunning.

Given the time of year of your visit, I would definitely go to the Northern Serengeti to see the migration, and I would not bother stopping in the Seronera region. You will see nothing at Seronera that you will not see on other legs of your journey, other than some pretty amazing scenery - the vast, Serengeti plains. Given the duration of your visit, I would be inclined to fly - to drive from Ngorongoro to the Northern Serengeti would be an incredibly long day, over rough and very dusty roads. If your visit was a little longer, it might be worth driving. CR

With the amount of time you have, the itinerary is fine. But as ShayTay mentions, from Ngo you will have a very early wake-up for 2.5/hr transfer back to Manyara for the 8:30am flight to Kogatende/Sayari, arriving about 9:45am.

The Central/Seronera isn't anymore crowded than elsewhere, other than the Crater itself. But if you don't have the time (day) to drive from Ngo with an o/n at Seronera and then up to Kogatende... you'll do just fine.